Going green: Earthaven provides a glimpse into an ‘ecovillage’

When winter arrives, most Americans have the luxury of warmth of a central heating system. Not so for Earthaven resident Chris Farmer, for whom winter means fighting the brutal cold without electricity. He braces for the unforgiving wrath of Mother Nature by boiling water, sealing it in a Mason jar and holding it in his hands for warmth. Farmer often wakes up in the morning to find nothing but solid ice in his canteen.

Earthaven, founded in 1994 by Chuck Marsh and Arjuna daSilva, established a 350-acre

Farmer, who grew up in Bethesda and attended Whitman until his junior year, moved to Earthaven to escape what he calls the chaos of American society.